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WordPress From Bootstrap to WordPress Create Bootstrap Styled Theme Templates Revisit Our Default Index.php Template

Dawn Foster
Dawn Foster
1,899 Points
Posted by Dawn Foster
Dawn Foster
1,899 Points

When is index.php used as a default template page?

Can you explain when the index.php page get's used as a default template when you have the following pages created.

For Blog pages, it appears it uses the home.php page, and for individidual post pages it uses single.php, and for archived posts it uses archive.php.

For the Front page, it uses front-page.php.

For anyother page it defaults to page.php

So if you have home.php, single.php, archive.php, front-page.php, and page.php.. when is index.php ever used by WP as the default template to use?

2 Answers

Zac Gordon
STAFF
Zac Gordon
Treehouse Guest Teacher
Zac Gordon
Zac Gordon
Treehouse Guest Teacher

index.php gets used whenever the other default template options are not included in a theme. If you do include all the files it doesn't get used. You might want to check out the courses recommended on Template Hierarchy for more on this.

Dawn Foster
Dawn Foster
1,899 Points
Dawn Foster
Dawn Foster
1,899 Points

Thanks, Zac. Yes, I will definetly take that course.

Rich Bagley
Rich Bagley
25,869 Points
Rich Bagley
Rich Bagley
25,869 Points

Hi Dawn,

The WordPress Codex has a visual overview of the hierarchy including fallbacks, etc.

You can also find this here with click-throughs to the relevant codex page.

Zac goes through it in The WordPress Template Hierarchy course too here.

Hope that helps.

-Rich

Dawn Foster
Dawn Foster
1,899 Points
Dawn Foster
Dawn Foster
1,899 Points

Thanks Rich. I love the link you gave me to the visual Template Hierarchy. That will be a very valuable resourse as I learn WP.

Rich Bagley
Rich Bagley
25,869 Points

No problem. Glad I could help :)